This is what’s known as a quick bread. It’s a little more cakey than bready; it doesn’t have the yeast factor, nor does it have the kneading factor. It has flour, milk egg and the tiniest bit of sugar, whizzed together and poured into a loaf tin. Of course, there’s cheese… And the bacon was my idea.

Alchemy, baby.

Concept: If you’re veggie or don’t do pork, the original recipe calls for apples, which go beautifully with the sharpness of the Cheddar. If you’re not into apples… Sun-dried tomatoes? Go on. Caramelised onions? Oh you.

Prepare a standard loaf tin by lightly greasing it with butter and dusting with a mixture of cornmeal and plain flour, shaking out the excess. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk together. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the milk, oil, egg and sugar until well blended.

Add the diced bacon.

Stir in the flour mixture. (I know the above is pretty gross – just be grateful I spared you an image of the flour addition.)

Add the cheeses in handfuls, stirring between each to ensure it is evenly distributed.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 45-50 minutes.

Sprinkle the remaining Cheddar over top of the bread and bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese melts and the bread is cooked all the way through – use a wooden skewer in the middle of the loaf to test.

Some tips:

If frying the bacon yourself, be sure to drain it on kitchen roll to remove as much grease as possible, the liquid/fat could affect the consistency of the bread.

Let the bread cool in the tin before removing and slicing, if it’s still quite warm it won’t cut very easily as it will be too soft. (See below – I have the patience of a two-year-old and cut the bread when it was too warm.)

This is amazing toasted, and the best way to work that is to cut a slice and pop it under the grill to warm up and get a bit of crunch.

Last, but certainly not least: Share. Anyone who tastes this will instantly recognise the extreme generosity and monumental willpower you must posess in order to make such a gesture. They will silently worship you and, perhaps one day, buy you a helicopter. even more so than they, surely, already do.

Now while I was messing about with this recipe I was also (very reverently) adjusting a recipe for hearty, chunky beef stew.